Read me Like a Book
by CherryBlossom935
Summary: Gray had done a great job in reading Lucy like an open book. Pairings: GrayXLucy Gracy GrayLu GraLu


**Hey guys! I made another GrayLu one-shot since I've been feeling that I'm losing my touch with this pairing. Forgive me if something is off or something. I'm kinda rusty. XD Hope you guys like it anyway! :D**

* * *

Glancing around the bar, Lucy sighed in exasperation. It was not because she was all alone, TRYING to read her book. It was not because Natsu had started a fight again and the whole guild started to act on their scheduled rampage. It was not because she was almost hit by a bottle of beer on her head. All of that was fine with her. She did almost get injured by the bottle of beer but that was all swell. Well… basically, it was because Gray was with her—with Juvia.

Lucy gotta admit that she liked the way things were before Juvia arrived. There was no one there to glare at her when she talked to Gray and no one was there to steal Gray away from her. It might sound selfish of her but she liked hanging out with the ice mage. His presence made her feel secure, light, and comforted. And with Juvia making her uncomfortable, she had less time having Gray by her side. The sense of comfort in their relationship was gone. Also, she is kinda sorta maybe jealous of how closer they seem are—with Lyon helping them to prove their love for each other and all. So… she might as well sulk on her own.

"Lu-chan! What are you reading this time?" Levy came out of nowhere and smiled in front of Lucy.

Blinking once, Lucy shook herself out of reverie and then stared at her book, trying to recollect the book she was reading.

"Death of a Salesman. It's quite confusing but is definitely worth your time." Lucy smiled back.

"Really? I'll try reading it next time. Well, I don't wanna disturb you so I guess I'll see you later. Bye, Lu-chan!" Lucy watched Levy as she made her way to Mirajane and the other girls.

"Bye, Levy-chan!"

Lucy rested her head on her right arm as she read through the pages. Looking for the page where she left of, she casually played with the edges of the pages. Few seconds passed and she finally found it.

_Happy: I'm losing—_

"_I can't concentrate on this! Why does he always have to be on my mind!" _

As Lucy was busy having her own battle with her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that the source of her problems just flopped down by her side. She just kept staring at the page on the book like Gray was never even there. She was too engrossed with her own thoughts that she had no clue that Gray was sitting right beside her and was staring at her intently. He was practically eyeballing her. Minutes have passed and Gray noticed that she was making no move to turn the page. The pages were short so it wouldn't take a normal person more than 5 minutes to read them but Lucy seemed to be staring at it for like 10 minutes or so. Gray had been watching her since her arrival on this very seat and she had been reading the same page since then. It was peculiar.

"Lucy… is everything all right?"

Again, Lucy just blinked and slowly craned her head to the source of the voice. She blinked for a few more times and her heart stared leaping out of her rib cage. Her eyes grew wide as a tint of red made its way on her face. Furthermore, she couldn't help but feel happy that Gray had made time to at least see her. When her eyes turned back to normal, she smiled shyly at him but then… she noticed that Gray had only left because Lyon was there with Juvia. Her smile slowly faded away.

"Yeayh… I'm fine. So, why are you here?" Lucy didn't mean to say it _that _way. And she was even trying so hard to make it sound sweet but she failed. It sounded bitter. It was supposed to be a harmless joke.

"Uhh… I noticed that you've… been reading the same page for a long time."

Gray avoided any eye contact due to Lucy's sudden reaction. He rubbed the back of his neck and wondered if he had done anything to cause Lucy to act that way. The least thing that he wanted was to make Lucy mad at him. It was enough that he hadn't been able to have a nice conversation with her.

Lucy saw Gray's awkward stature and realized that she had been releasing a bitter aura since she, dare she admit it, got jealous of Juvia. She concluded that Gray didn't deserve it and tried to act like her normal self. She fake smiled at Gray, trying to find an excuse for her weird actions.

"I was… mmm… I just… uhhh… ICan'tUnderstandTheLineOverHere."

Lucy randomly pointed her index finger, not even bothering to look at the page. She looked at what she was pointing at and mentally slapped herself in horror. As Gray scooted closer to her, she was trying so hard not to bang her head on the table. She watched horrifically as Gray read the line that she was pointing at.

_Happy: I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop? _

Gray sat up straight when he finished reading the line. He looked at Lucy with his hands crossed on his bare chest. Lucy was about to die from the anticipation. She couldn't believe that she had done something so stupid in front of Gray Fullbuster. Of course the line meant that Happy thought that he was losing weight. She was about to die. She could almost see what would be written in her tombstone:

_Lucy Heartfilia_

_X767-X791_

_Died Out Of Embarrassment_

Gray opened his mouth, about to speak up. Lucy steadied herself for the worst scenario to outcome which was already implied above.

"I think that this line shows that Happy has been living under the shadow of his brother, Biff. He just wants the recognition of their father, Willy, so he ends up doing things that will catch Willy's attention. I can't blame him though. Biff has been everything that Willy could've wished for a son, when he was young I mean."

Lucy stared at Gray in amazement. Sometimes, she would forget that Gray is a sensitive guy. She couldn't help but grin at him dumbly and it was not because he just unconsciously saved her butt. She was just so bewildered with his thoughts. This was another thing that she missed about Gray. He would always say the most amazing things. The first time Lucy realized that Gray was pretty clever was in Galuna Island, stating: _I don't care where I get hurt, as long as my injuries are visible_. She laughed at the thought. Gray looked at her which resulted to the shaking of her head in response.

"Hey… what's really going on?"

Gray looked at her worriedly as he grabbed hold of the book from the table. He flipped through the pages and stopped in a particular page. Lucy thought that she saw a glint of amazement in his features but as soon as it was there, it was gone. She brushed it off and decided to confront Gray about it. She was tired of running away from this. Chewing on her lower lip, she tried to calm herself down.

"I just want things to go back the way they were before… you know? When it was just… us." Lucy looked down at her fumbling hands, trying to hide her blush away.

"Oh…"

Lucy couldn't makeup anything from Gray's reply. He said it in a monotone way. She slowly looked at him, only to find out that he was wearing his normal expression. There was no reaction from him at all. He just stayed on his place, looking at the book. Lucy was waiting for him to at least move a little but nothing happened. In turn, Lucy kept staring at him.

Unexpectedly, Gray sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Lucy's heart leaped for a second there. Then, her world suddenly crashed. She realized that she was going to be rejected and she hadn't even confessed yet. Inwardly, she was slowly breaking down. Her feelings worsen when she found Gray staring at her pitifully. Gray was seeing right through her. Lucy already knew that Gray liked Juvia but why—

"_I guess there was always this tiny bit of hope inside me that Gray and I are meant to be together." _ Lucy smiled sadly at the thought.

"Hey…"Gray barely stated but Lucy made no move to look at him.

…

"Look at me, Lucy…"

Gray reached out for Lucy's hand and clasped it into his. Lucy looked down at his hands, covering hers, while she contemplated whether to hear out what Gray had to say or not. She ended up looking into his deep onyx eyes which were full of wonder. She could see him smiling so sweetly at her. She waited for him to speak.

"Lucy… I… I mean, you should…. uh…."

*Deep Breath Intake*

"You should tell it to Natsu himself. I'm sure he'll understand that you've been feeling left out since Lisanna's arrival."

…

…

…

"What?"

Lucy looked at him, dumbfounded with his statement. Gray raised his eyebrow at her as if to tell her that she should probably go to Natsu, NOW. Lucy began working her mind with what he meant.

"_They were before=Before Lisanna's come back, not before Juvia's arrival; Us=Me and Natsu, not me and Gray."_

Processing what just happened here, Lucy began to relax and laugh awkwardly.

"Oh… yeah… I will just do that… now… I'm going… to Natsu… to confess my feelings… yeah… I'm walking… walking… to where Natsu is… right now… to do what you just told me to do…" Lucy went on and on slowly as she made her way to Natsu, not even breaking her eyes from Gray.

Gray just smiled back nicely. Suddenly, his eyes widened and Lucy had had to stop with her tracks. She stood straight up and waited for Gray to say something. Gray cautiously brought a book up in his hand so Lucy was able to see it. She noticed that it was her book. So, that was it! She forgot her book.

"Don't forget your book." Gray gave her a cocky smile but nevertheless, Lucy found it very endearing.

"Oh, yeah…"

Lucy walked over to Gray as he stood up right beside her.

"I gotta show you my favorite line first."

"Hm?"

Gray lowered the book so Lucy could see his favorite part. Lucy's eyes suddenly widened and a blush formed on her face while Gray, on the other hand, was smirking broadly. Gray began reading it slowly and surely, loud and soft enough for just the two of them to hear it.

"Okay! It's official! I'm really in love with Gray and it is not because of the constant dreams I have where Juvia was the witch and I was the princess to be saved by my prince charming, Gray. Nope! That's not it! It is all due to my dream last night where we were just about to kiss. When it got cut off, I found myself groaning in exasperation but I also realized that I was smiling at the same time. It felt so… unexplainable. I guess that's just how love is." Gray read with it with no emotion but the smile on his face was evident.

Lucy stared gruesomely at the page that was filled of her post-its. She could've grabbed it from Gray but she was frozen in shock. Gray was watching her every move. It only made her feel more embarrassed and self-conscious so she ended up giving him a sheepish grin. She looked down again at the post-its and glared at them. She couldn't believe she forgot about them. She sounded like a total fan girl when Gray read it in a neutral tone. It was so embarrassing that she hid her face by covering it with her hands. Cunningly, she took a peak of Gray's reaction and found him holding his laughter. Gray was having a fun time pushing her buttons! That was when she decided that she needed to get out of here fast.

"Uh… Nevermind… Yo-you can h-have it… I… hhmm… gotta… oh yeah! IGottaGoConfessToNatsu!"

As she was about to leave, she found a pair of lips crashing on hers. She went rigid for a while but she soon kissed back when she noticed that it was Gray the one whom was kissing her. She kissed back with the same force. Gray's kiss was full of passion. It was too fiery for an ice mage. She found herself melting in his touch and had to be supported by Gray's arms around her waist, dropping the book on the floor. In return, she looped her arms around his neck, getting intoxicated from the heated kiss. Soon, Gray's kiss became slow yet it still had the same amount of passion. Then, the two parted, both in need of air. Gray cupped Lucy's face and caressed it with love.

"Don't … you… ever joke… of something… like that… ever again." Gray stated in between breaths.

"What?" Lucy was still dizzy from the kiss.

*mimicry*I gotta go confess to Natsu.*/mimicry*

"Liar!"

"What? Jealous, Gray?" Lucy asked playfully while her eyes glinted in amusement.

"You shouldn't tease me, Lucy. I have your book."

Lucy didn't even realize that Gray had picked up her book on the floor. She tried reaching for it but Gray raised his hand up, making it hard for Lucy to reach it. She got out of Gray's hold then, jumped up and down, trying to grasp on the book. Getting tired from jumping, she gave him the cutest pout. She saw him lower his arm a bit and her eyes began to sparkle.

"Fine. BUT tell me you love me first."

"What?"

Without even a doubt in his mind, Gray took hold of Lucy, not allowing her to move, and lowered his arm to read another of his _favorite lines_ from the book.

"Call me pervert and all but that doesn't escape the fact that I—"

Gray was really testing Lucy. She had no choice but fall into his commands. Besides, she might as well confess.

"I—you"

Lucy's voice was barely a whisper that Gray didn't get to hear the most important part: love. The result was for him to read the remaining part.

"actually dreamt that Gray was making l—"

"I love you!"

Lucy shouted in frustration. The whole guild was flabbergasted with Lucy's sudden remark. All eyes were on them right now. She just buried her face on Gray's chest to save her from further embarrassment. Gray, as on reflects, comforted her by caressing the back of her head and by rubbing her back. The bar was then, swiftly filled with cheers and laughter dedicated to the brand new couple.

"That's _my _girl. I love you more."

Lucy precipitously sensed an aura of protectiveness from Gray. She looked at him and noticed that he was glaring at something or, particularly, someone. Lucy followed his gazed, recognizing that he was glaring at the man who had been flirting with her since there very arrival here. And the said man had brought her flowers and chocolate. Lucy stopped looking at him since he gave her the creeps. Then realization, hit her.

"Jerk!"

Gray only gave her a toothy grin and a kiss on her cheek.


End file.
